Up in Smoke
by Writtentoberead
Summary: Nicole has been feeling off lately, especially when it comes to Waverly. She can't shake the feeling that something might be wrong. When she decides to go see her girlfriend anyway, she finds her in bed with someone else. Who knew that was exactly what they needed to break this funk, even if it's only for a bit?


A*N - My first Wayhaught fic (or ficlet I suppose). We'll see if there's more to come from me for these two if you all like it but after years of not writing I couldn't get this out of my head.

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Nicole had a rough day. Work was getting to her. Going back to break ins and speeding tickets was so mundane compared to anything she could do to help Black Badge. Then there was Waverly. Waverly who was a bit…off. Maybe it was just her and all the frustration that was new to how Waverly usually saw her before. Of course, there was also the frustration of never getting a moment alone with her girlfriend! Who knew demons would be less of a problem to her than the other Earp sisters always knowing when the best time would be to interrupt. It had gotten even worse since both Dolls and Doc were not around to keep Wynonna busy in every sense of the word. Still, Nicole was seeing Waverly open up more and more and obviously become more comfortable in the new to them but especially new to her relationship. Nicole remembered the confusion of the first time she recognized she was more into ladies than boy-men. Waverly was taking it a lot better than she had, though she assumed it was a bit easier when you had bigger problems (like your family being cursed and your sister killing your other sister and everything else that came with being an Earp). Despite every frustration and annoying little thing that happened, she craved just quietly laying in Waverly's bed with her more than anything. In fact, that was exactly what she planned to do tonight even if it meant having to temporarily put Wynonna in jail (or at least handcuff her to somewhere far away from Waverly's room).

She texted Waverly before she left her house after changing into a nice comfy sweater. She received no reply but figured her girlfriend had her nose deep into research of some sort. Arriving a short while later to the homestead, she rang the doorbell. Again, no answer. She started to get a bit concerned. She slowly opened the door, holding her breath and listening for any signs of distress. Once inside, she saw a vase knocked off the table beside the base of the stairs. The first thing that worried her a bit, but not excessively since it could easily have just been Wynonna who wouldn't have cared enough to pick it up.

She creeped up the stairs to hear Waverly's giggling. It made her smile but also wonder at what could be happening behind the closed door of her girlfriend's room. She paused to listen for a second longer, knowing that she probably should just announce her presence.

"You're the nicest man I've ever met! I'm so happy I brought you home, I really needed to smile like this! Come lay with me, please?" Some kissing noises followed, which made Nicole cringe.

She paused for another minute, heart sinking a bit. Nicole wondered if she was really hearing this right, part of her wanting to walk away and pretend she never heard anything. Her Waverly was smiling because of some guy. Maybe their relationship was all just a fun experiment for her? Still, she needed to know from the source. She knocked and waited for a reply.

"Quick, hide!" She heard Waverly whisper. There was a scramble of feet and she heard the closet door shut. A minute later the door was opened by an out of breath Waverly.

"Baby! It's just you. Oh, thank god."

Nicole didn't reply at first, just studied Waverly's face. Waverly just looked back at her with a genuine smile. It hurt Nicole to see her so blatantly unconcerned with the fact that Nicole could have just heard everything Waverly had just done.

"Waverly, I heard everything. I want to know why…" Nicole stopped, unable to say the rest.

"Why, what?" Waverly questioned, she wasn't exactly following. She thought Nicole would be happy she was in a good mood. Usually that meant good things for Nicole, too.

"Why would you cheat?" Nicole said, her hurt showing more clearly now.

"Cheat? What do you mean?!" Waverly was now very confused. "I wouldn't cheat on you. I know this is new and stuff but I really, really like you Nicole. I broke up with Champ so we could be together because I didn't want to cheat and make you feel like you don't deserve to be my one and only."

"I heard you talking to whoever is now in the closet…" Nicole explained, walking slowly into the room towards the hiding place in question.

"OH! No! Baby careful-" Waverly tried to warn Nicole but she had opened the doors and it was too late. A very large and fluffy blur came jumping out and knocked Nicole backward. She quickly caught herself before she hit her head but her ass definitely had a bruise now. She still couldn't see what was attacking her because all she could feel was a very warm, wet tongue covering her face in slobber.

Waverly jumped to the rescue. "Smoke! No! Down, boy! Let her breathe!" She pulled the giant dog off her girlfriend, giggling when he just turned around and assaulted her face next.

Nicole wiped her face off and finally opened her eyes. She was looking the happily wagging tail of a black fluffy lab. "Smoke?" She leaned around the dog's rear end to look at her girlfriend questioningly.

"He was on the front porch when I came home, earlier. I called Wynonna to see if she knew who he was and she told me no and to drop him at the vet but I figured he was probably hungry or thirsty since there are no neighbors within a few miles of here. He drank a whole bowl of water then ran around the house. I decided I would try to find his home but when I heard you pull up I thought you were Wynonna so I forced him into my room so she wouldn't get mad."

"So he's the one who broke the vase." Nicole thought out loud.

"Yeah, I didn't have time to clean it up yet. I don't think he realizes how big he is." Waverly laughed as Smoke sat between the two girls, looking back and forth as they talked wondering who was going to pet him for being so good. "Smoke was running around the room and I had just gotten him up into the bed and was going to try and get him to lay down with me to relax until I could tell Wynonna." She moved and hugged him, lightly scratching him all over, which Smoke seemed to thoroughly enjoy as he laid out onto his back, paws in the air.

"You named him?"

"Well I figured he needed to be called something until we found his owner!" Waverly defended, her arms crossing and a pout forming.

"No! Baby, I like the name!" Even if Nicole hadn't liked the name she would say anything to get that pout off of her girlfriend's face. "Smoke Earp. Ol' Smokey. Lil' Smokey?" She tried to put a smile back on Waverly's face.

It came slowly, with a small smirk. "It's actually Haught. Smoke Haught. Smoke Nathaniel Haught."

"You gave him my last name?" Nicole asked, thinking it was adorable that Waverly would do so.

Waverly couldn't help but giggle, waiting for Nicole to get the joke. "It was…funnier."

Nicole narrowed her eyes and said the name a few times. "Smoke Nathaniel Haught…Smoke Nathaniel…Smoke Haught…." Her eyes widened before she pointed at Waverly with her mouth hanging open.

"Smoke N. Haught! He's smoking hot, baby!" Waverly fell into a laughing fit while Smoke stood up and started wagging his tail, seemingly pleased with the name. "I told him he was handsome and it just fit so perfectly!"

Nicole pet Smoke, giving him a few scratches around his ears. She knew he was sticking around for a while with the way Waverly couldn't stop giggling and petting him. He was pretty cute, even if it meant when she walked into her apartment Calamity was going to be mad at her when she got a whiff of dog scent all over her. Waverly came over and sat in her lap on the floor, giving Nicole a kiss that definitely proved she had nothing to actually worry about when it came to their relationship. She turned to Smoke again, smiling at him. "You're not what I expected but I think for the first time I'm going to say I'm glad I caught my girlfriend with a man. Let's bring you into town to get you some proper toys and a name tag."


End file.
